COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 15 Ohio State men’s volleyball team fell in a 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-11) heartbreaker at No. 2 Long Beach State to open the Active Ankle Classic in Long Beach, Calif. Four Buckeyes (8-10) totaled double-digit kills in the match.

Redshirt junior Andrew Lutz led the squad with a career-high 21 kills, while junior Michael Henchy picked up his second double-double of the season with 11 kills and 15 digs. Freshman Miles Johnson earned the first double-double of his career with 11 kills and 11 digs.

Middle blockers Driss Guessous and Dustan Neary totaled 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Neary’s total was a career-best. Freshman setter Christy Blough set a new career mark with 60 assists and added two service aces.

The two teams battled back and forth to start set one before a 6-1 LBSU run gave the 49ers a 13-8 advantage. A 3-1 LBSU rally moved the home squad to a 20-14 lead and the 49ers held on for a 25-19 win.

Kills from Johnson and Guessous led to a quick 5-3 advantage for Ohio State in the second set. The 49ers responded with a three-point run to jump ahead at 8-7 before the Buckeyes came out with a 4-1 run to regain an 11-9 advantage. A kill by Neary and a service ace from Henchy set the score 19-15 and a kill by Lutz forced a LBSU timeout at 22-19. A kill by Henchy gave the Buckeyes set point and Lutz sealed it, 25-22.

Ohio State took an early 4-2 lead to open the third and moved ahead at 6-3. LBSU used a 4-1 run to take the lead at 9-8 and a four-point rally moved the 49ers to a 16-13 advantage. The home team held its lead until a service error sent the Buckeyes on a 4-0 run to go up 20-18. Highlighting the rally were two service aces by Blough. Ohio State closed out the set with a five-point run to win, 25-19.

Kills from Guessous and Henchy gave the Buckeyes a 6-4 lead in set four before the 49ers used a run to jump ahead at 10-8. LBSU moved up to a 16-12 advantage to force a Buckeye timeout. The 49ers held on to their lead until a block by Johnson led to a 3-0 Ohio State run to come within one of LBSU at 22-21. The late rally fell short as LBSU went on to force a fifth set with a 25-22 win.

The Buckeyes used kills from Guessous and Lutz to give the squad a 5-3 lead in the final frame. A Neary kill and a Lutz solo block set the score 8-6 to force a LBSU timeout. The 49ers regrouped and put together a 4-0 run for a 10-8 lead and held on to take the match, 15-11.

Ohio State closes out the Active Ankle Classic Saturday with a 8 p.m. ET match vs. Cal State Northridge.